Yowzzerz

Alright I can't figure it out so I am asking for help from anyone that can.

I own a 1993 Toyota xtracab 3vze 3.0 v6, probably the worst engine Toyota made ever, but I love it because it's my crappy Toyota. Anyways it's got horrible power. I can't shift without lugging the engine until 3200 rpms. Can't hold speed going up hill and takes a while to get up to speed. I have replaced the valve cover gaskets about 1 month ago, all spark plugs, oil change, distributor cap and rotor, pic valve. But still no luck. It runs rich especially when starting it up and blows a little bit of white smoke when it's cold. When taking the air box apart there was some oil in the tube, which from some research has many causes. The antifreeze also disappears magic with no trace within 2 days. Hoping it's not the head gasket but just need to know what it is really. Thanks!

TC22RE

Hello,
The white smoke on startup and the lost antifreeze both sound like the engine is burning the antifreeze, most likely due to a blown head gasket. I am not an expert on the 3vze, but I do recall they had issues with head gaskets going out. As for the low power/lugging and richness when starting, that may be a different bag of worms to look into, and also may be partially caused by the consumption of antifreeze; but I think the first concern may be checking to see if you are indeed burning the coolant. If you know any good mechanics in your area you might ask them to do a hydrocarbon test on the engine, its fairly simple and essentially checks for exhaust gasses in your coolant system, a telltale sign of either a blown head gasket or some other mechanical fault.

Keep us posted on what you find!